Forced unionism fuels Michigan's 'brain drain'

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, September 1, 2007

This Labor Day 2007, Michigan is beset by an array of much-discussed economic problems. The troubles are both immediate and long-term.

But one stands out above all the others: Michigan simply isn't creating enough good jobs to keep its young employees from leaving for more prosperous states.

Between 1994 and 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of 25 to 34 year-olds in Michigan fell from 1.46 million to 1.29 million, a stinging decline of 10.6 percent. Census Bureau data also indicate this decline is largely attributable to the absence of a Right to Work law in Michigan.

Right to Work laws are primarily about employee freedom of choice. Such laws, now on the books in 22 states, bar the firing of both private- and public-sector employees for refusal to join or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union. In addition to protecting workers' freedom of choice, Right to Work laws help create jobs and improve living standards, as witnessed by young adults' "votes with their feet."

Overall, the 28 non-Right to Work states lost a net total of nearly 2.3 million 25- to 34-year-olds, for a decline of 8.6 percent, over the past decade. Meanwhile, the 25- to 34-year-old population in states that had Right to Work laws throughout the 1994-2004 period increased by 6.5 percent. And were it not for immigrants, who disproportionately located in non-Right to Work states, the Right to Work advantage would be even wider.

Young Americans would not be far more apt to move into Right to Work states than they are to move out of them if these states weren't creating millions of good jobs with good benefits.

Of course, Right to Work protections aren't the only factor involved in the domestic migration of young employees and entrepreneurs. But a Right to Work law's presence appears to be more strongly correlated with attracting and retaining young people than any other single factor. Twelve states suffered a net loss of 11 percent or more of their 25- to 34-year-old population over the past decade and every single one is a forced-unionism state.

Union spokesmen and other forced-unionism apologists sometimes try to attribute Michigan's anemic job market and the attendant youth out-migration to the state's high manufacturing density. But six of the current 10 highest-manufacturing-density states have Right to Work laws. And the overall 25- to 34-year-old population in these states did not decrease at all over the past decade, but rather increased by 5 percent.

To retain its young employees and the energy and creativity they contribute, Michigan needs to create far more jobs, especially in the private sector. Michigan's recent job losses are especially severe. But according to the latest available annual data, non-Right to Work states as a group have yet to recoup the private-sector jobs they lost in the recession at the beginning of this decade.

In 2005, Right to Work states had an aggregate population aged 24-35 of 15.6 million - 8.6 percent more than in 1995. Meanwhile, Michigan's 25-34 population fell by 10.6 percent. Forced-unionism states as a whole lost 7.7 percent of that age group.

Today, many Michigan politicians acknowledge that Right to Work states have superior business climates, but nevertheless refuse to push for enactment of a Right to Work law. They claim such a law can't be passed in a "union stronghold" like Michigan.

That's an increasingly unpersuasive excuse. In the mid-1960s, more than 40 percent of Michigan workers belonged to unions. Today it's down to about 20 percent. And several of the 22 states that now have Right to Work laws - including Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee and Wyoming - had roughly 20 percent or more of their employees in unions when their laws were first adopted. Moreover, polls actually show that a majority of unionized employees support the Right to Work principle.

Enactment of a Michigan Right to Work law is possible, if only enough state legislators and legislative challengers will recognize the benefits of supporting legislation that could revitalize the state economy and the risks of standing in the way of much-needed reform.

This fall, if funds are available, the National Right to Work Committee hopes to mobilize freedom-loving citizens across the state to help pass a Right to Work law. Citizens are asked to contact lawmakers and legislative candidates and urge them to pledge support for prohibiting union officials' practice of forcing employees to pay union dues just to get or keep a job.

Readers who may be interested in participating in this program are urged to call Committee headquarters at 1-800-325-7892 to receive more information.

Mark Mix is president of the Springfield, VA-based National Right to Work Committee.